We’ve been announcing the necessity for complying with the Real ID Act of 2005 almost from the start. Now, the deadline is fast approaching and for those who believe they have plenty of time left (think, long DMV lines) or that compliance is a choice, they will be unpleasantly surprised.

Summary of the Act: All states will be required to be in compliance by October 1, 2020. In essence, all state-issue I.D., will have to meet the standards of a Real I.D. Basically, a Real I.D. is a state-issued enhanced driver’s (or non-driver’s id) license without which one cannot fly – even domestically without additional forms of identification – AND that pertains also to work visas, delivery bonds (for aliens, a form of bail, so to speak) and physical border barriers.

To provide a comprehensive understanding of this law, below are the basics:

The law sets forth requirements for state driver’s licenses and ID cards to be accepted by the federal government for “official purposes”, as defined by the Secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The Secretary of Homeland Security has defined “official purposes” as boarding commercially operated airline flights, and entering federal buildings and nuclear power plants, although the law gives the Secretary the unlimited authority to require a “federal identification” for any other purposes.[4]

The Real ID Act implements the following:

Title II of the act establishes new federal standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and non-driver identification cards.

Changing visa limits for temporary workers, nurses, and Australian citizens.

Funding some reports and pilot projects related to border security.

Introducing rules covering “delivery bonds” (similar to bail, but for aliens who have been released pending hearings).

Updating and tightening the laws on application for asylum and deportation of aliens for terrorism.

Waiving laws that interfere with construction of physical barriers at the borders.

On December 20, 2013, the Department of Homeland Security announced that implementation of Phase 1 would begin on January 20, 2014, which followed a yearlong period of “deferred enforcement”. There are four planned phases, three of which apply to areas that affect relatively few U.S. citizens—e.g., DHS headquarters, nuclear power plants, and restricted and semi-restricted federal facilities such as military bases.[5] On January 8, 2016, DHS issued an implementation schedule for Phase 4, stating that starting January 22, 2018 “passengers with a driver’s license issued by a state that is still not compliant with the REAL ID Act (and has not been granted an extension) will need to show an alternative form of acceptable identification for domestic air travel to board their flight”. Starting October 1, 2020 “every air traveler will need a REAL ID-compliant license, or another acceptable form of identification, for domestic air travel.”[6] As of November 2018, 38 states and territories have been certified as compliant, and 18 have been granted extensions.[7]

Save yourselves the last-minute, hours-long visit to the DMV in your respective states by applying for your Real I.D. as soon as possible.

Over the years we’ve reported on the Real ID Act that was passed by Congress in 2005. As of the date of this Beacon Bulletin, four states are not in compliance with this legislation: Louisiana, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, thereby prohibiting domestic flight travel without the presentation of a federal form of identification (passport, visa, etc.) Compliance to the federal ID law is required by all states by January 1, 2016. . Basically, Real ID is the first major step towards a federal ID card, but this is the official definition:

From Wikipedia (not a usual source but the .gov explanation rivals the ACA legislation in terms of length):

The law sets forth requirements for state driver’s licenses and ID cards to be accepted by the federal government for “official purposes”, as defined by the Secretary of Homeland Security. The Secretary of Homeland Security has currently defined “official purposes” as presenting state driver’s licenses and identification cards for boarding commercially operated airline flights and entering federal buildings and nuclear power plants, although the law gives the Secretary the unlimited authority to require a “federal identification” for any other purposes that the Secretary shall determine.

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In the news:

New ID rule is a problem for driver licenses

N.Y. minimum to fall short of enhanced U.S. standard

By Michael Gormley

NEWSDAY

on September 8, 2015 – 9:49 PM

ALBANY – New Yorkers looking to board a domestic flight or take a cruise next year could find themselves grounded unless they have driver’s licenses containing additional security data that is soon to be required by the federal government.

That’s because the state has failed to comply with the minimum standards of the federal Real ID system by not mandating these so-called enhanced licenses, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The state contends that it has complied because it makes enhanced licenses available to those who want them.

At an undetermined date next year, the federal government is expected to require that state driver’s licenses meet minimum security standards to board even domestic flights and cruises under the Real ID Act passed by Congress in 2005 based on a recommendation by the 9/11 Commission.

New Yorkers will then have to hold an “enhanced driver’s license” embedded with passport-type data. Without an enhanced license or enhanced nondriver’s ID, travelers will need a passport, passport card, permanent residency card, birth certificate or one of a few other acceptable pieces of identification, in addition to their standard driver’s license, to fly, go on a cruise or to enter most federal buildings. A passport card is a wallet-size card that can be used to enter the United States from Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean by land or sea, but not by air.

We carry our passports regardless, given our history of unexpected international travel, but with NYS’s non-compliance with the Real ID, it just makes sense.

Self-Check comes on the heels of regulation being pushed by legislators that requires all employers to verify the immigration status of employees via an online program, Verify. (We have major reservations [still] about E-Verify in that there are so many ways to get around its confirmation process [as has been reported lately on the use of the SSNs of dead folks by illegal immigrants] and on a more serious note, makes employers a de facto arm of law enforcement is an abhorrent concept.)

To review, prior to an employee with a potential “glitch” in his employment status applying for a job, (wherein the employer would have to validate his legal standing to work), he can check his own status online by himself. Within that self-check, s/he can then determine the appropriate corrections necessary, if any. There are enough loop holes in this 2-tiered program to run a circus through.

Step One: Check hirability. The answers to the Self-Check questions are based primarily on the address history of the person applying. Once someone has obtained a SSN or a TIN (taxpayer identification number), running a reverse address check is very easy and often free online. (We’re not going to tell people how to do it but given our experience, take our word for it that acquiring address histories is a cake walk, especially for a determined person.)

Step Two: Establish an E-Verify’d account. In this portion of the Self-Check process, once an applicant has been given clearance by USCIS as being hirable – via Step One above – that individual then sets up an E-Verify account in which information will be stored for access by potential employers. So anyone with an SSN or TIN and birth and address history can legitimize his/her identity. How do future employers know then who is really showing up for work? S/he won’t.

Self-Check and E-Verify are good starts in the effort in removing the unwanted competition between legally hirable employees and undocumented immigrants for work but, where employers part with these government plans is on the issue of liability. If a person desires to “get over” on the system, they will. If an employer has complied with E-Verify and other hiring regulations (which obviously to date have not really turned out all that well), why should the employer be held responsible to a system in which she had no input in designing? And the employer will face penalties for hiring errors regardless of compliance with E-Verify. The obvious work facility access requirement – a retinal scan , fingerprint, non-invasive DNA monitor, appears logical but then we have to consider the “privacy” issues these suggestions will undoubtedly raise.

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